Advice needed!

[Sparkle9212]

So I’ve been at my new job for about 2 months. I work at a Dementia and Alzheimer’s Residence. I enjoy my residents and providing care for them. They definitely keep me on my toes. My main issue at this new job has been the caregivers working under me. It seems like anytime I ask for something to be done that’s simple it’s push back. I work 3-11 so in the evening time it does get very busy. So one issue I’m having is when the caregivers go on lunch break or smoke breaks. They don’t tell me. I never know where anyone is. We have radios we use but they rarely answer. Another issue I have noticed is that sometimes when I’m making rounds I walk into residents room and I see soiled diapers just laying on the floor. I’ve asked when you change someone please bag it up and take it out of the resident’s room to help reduce odors in the rooms. DON and floor manager agreed and spoke to each one individually about this. One actually did what they were asked but the other two shrugged it off and continued to do it. Any advice on how to deal with caregivers/cnas who don’t take directions well? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

[Just me.]

I worked for many years in a long-term care facility. I had to really prove myself when I stepped up form being a cna to a nurse. At the time I was younger than many of those I was delegating to and many had an attitude. I found myself doing everything I was supposed to do, and then some. Perhaps talk with the Don about this again..have a pre-shift meeting with the DON and unit manager present, and let the cna's know that when rounds are made to check on the patients by the nurse, the DON and unit manager have agreed that soiled depends are going to be noted on the rounds sheet and reported for an agreed upon consequence. It could be done for ea shift, so noone feels picked on. They could remind the cnas that this was discussed and they could commend those who have made the changes.

["nursy", RN]

Unfortunatelly, I a lot of these employees have outlasted many nurses and supervisors, and have no fear of consequences. Unless your supervisors agree to enforce any kind of consequences, you are probably out of luck.

[Just me.]

"Nursy" what you say is true. I have run into some of the CNAs and some still work there, 16 years later.

[KCMnurse, BSN, MSN, RN]

Sounds like you may have to enforce some consequences to staff "shrugging off" your requests. If your supervisor is unwilling or unable to gain compliance he/she may be supportive of your efforts to do so. Sometimes it takes making an example of one employee to get the others to toe the line. Hopefully, you have policies and procedures in place that you can use to back you up? I would suggest some disciplinary action - verbal - progressing from there.

[JackdLPN]

if they keep doing it, write them up. Get them out of there, no use in lazy people. They have tons of aides they can hire. It's a high turn over job. Get the bad eggs out of there and get the good ones in. No reason going into work stressed all the time.

I had the same problem as you a few times and I just kept writing them up and eventually other people complained about that person until they were fired.

Because I stopped tolerating that laziness. Dealing with an aide who wont work with you is very frustrating, especially is they put your patients at risk.